Rebuilding the Tower of Sacred Flame
by Tigreye33
Summary: Ting returns to Gongmen City with hopes to rebuild the Peacocks' pride and joy: the Tower of Sacred Flame. The question of whether the Tower will stand is already clear. But the real question is: will Ting's efforts redeem her species, or will it all go up in flames?
1. The Foundation

_Chapter One: The Foundation_

A blizzard blew through a mountain village, its inhabitants hardly daring to brave the weather. The few who did bolted from shelter to shelter until they arrived at their destinations. One such destination was often at the village bar, where an open fire welcomed those people in need of warmth.

The pig in charge was readying another round of hot tea when a traveler came inside the bar, snow covering most of her. She was very easily labeled as a traveler, especially since no one had heard of any peafowl living all the way up here in the mountains.

The peahen brushed off most, if not all, of the snow and walked wearily to the counter. She didn't even talk before the bartender set a tea cup in front of her.

"So what's your name?" the pig asked after the peahen took a drink.

"Ting," the bird answered.

"Ting?" the pig asked. "Like one of those teachers from that soothsaying school, Shido La or something?"

Ting had just took a sip and coughed a little.

"Shide Lao," she corrected him, "and I am no longer a teacher. I have a greater calling now."

The pig scoffed.

"And what would that be?" he asked.

"I must rebuild the Tower of Sacred Flame," Ting answered him.

The pig almost dropped the tea cup he had just washed.

"Is that a joke?" he asked her. "You want to rebuild _that _tower? You're crazy!"

"Crazy is a matter of perspective," Ting said humbly as she was about to take another sip.

"You're almost as crazy as - as Shen!"

Ting slammed the tea cup back onto its saucer. The pig and all those nearby were surprised that neither broke.

"How _dare_ you compare _him_ to even me!" Ting screeched. "I will rebuild everything he destroyed so we can all forget his cursed name!"

"How can you rebuild an entire race of pandas?" the pig argued. "And what about Master Thundering Rhino? You can't bring him back by building a tower on his grave!"

He turned to put a few things away.

"Hmph," he said under his breath, "and he was my favorite Kung Fu Master."

Ting picked her tea cup up.

"He was mine, too," she whispered before taking a sip.

Her sincerity cooled the pig's anger. She looked at the remains of her tea. She sighed as she set the tea cup down.

"We know how Shen has affected us," she began again, "but what must he have done to his parents? They may have turned in their graves so often that they may have dug a hole to the Americas."

The pig whirled around.

"The whats?" he asked.

Ting dismissed the question with a wave of her wing.

"So after you rebuild the tower," the pig started, "who'll take the throne?"

"Oh, I don't know," Ting answered, "nor do I care. As long as the Masters' Council keeps the building standing, I couldn't care less who was in charge. There can't possibly be anyone worse than Shen."

"What'll you do after it's built?"

"I don't know that either. I guess I'll find out when I get there."

Ting looked at the door as a snow-covered goose rushed in and shook himself off. The blizzard was still raging.

"At least the construction will begin as winter ends," Ting said to herself as she put a few coins on the counter.

She walked toward the door, ready to brave the weather to her destination.


	2. A Simple Request

_Chapter Two: A Simple Request_

The boat jerked slightly to a stop as it docked. Ting was waiting on the deck and walked onto the dock as soon as she was able. Walking into the streets of Gongmen City, the peahen admired how the city had changed since she had last been there, over twenty years ago. The buildings grew taller and brighter. More important structures grew larger and bustled with activity. Houses and apartments seemed to have multiplied since she had last visited.

She started walking toward the site of the Tower. She couldn't help but notice the looks she was getting from those she was passing by. The feeling of resentment pierced the air as if a late winter frost suddenly struck. Other travelers quickly moved away from her and hurried on to another street.

In spite of all this, Ting held her head high and refused to look to either side, determined to arrive at her destination.

She soon arrived at the Tower's gate and was surrounded by the antelope guards, each pointing a spear at her. Ting remained calm.

"I come with a request for Masters Ox and Croc," she told the guards.

"D-do you have an a-appointment?" one of the guards asked.

"Yes, I do," Ting answered, taking a scroll from her bag.

Another one of the guards cautiously inched forward and took the scroll Ting handed him before racing back to his position. He opened the scroll and read it quickly.

"Sorry, but it won't do," he told the peahen.

"Hmm," Ting replied. "There must be some misunderstanding. Are you worried that I'll do to them what _he_ did to Master Flying Rhino? If that is the case, then you'll have no need to fear."

The guards remained adamant. Ting began to be annoyed, but she knew she had to remain peaceful, or her efforts would be for naught. Could they really be this cautious about every peafowl that comes their way?

Ting was about to say something when the gate doors swung open.

"Stand down," a deep voice boomed.

The guards immediately returned to their posts as Ox and Croc walked toward Ting. The peahen bowed to them.

"Our apologies for ze guards," Croc told her.

"They apparently don't know how to treat an honored guest," Ox said.

The guards refused to make eye contact.

"Oh, don't punish them," Ting said. "They were only doing their duty. Too well, perhaps."

"May we continue this conversation inside?" Ox asked.

"Of course."

* * *

"You want to rebuild ze Tower of Sacred Flame?" Croc asked, shocked.

"I can't say I'm surprised, Ting," Ox said. "I felt like we've just been waiting for someone to come and request the rebuild."

The three of them were in a small hut that was built in a corner of the Tower's yard. Even though the Tower no longer stood, Ox and Croc still had a city to protect. Small living quarters was better than none.

"But?" Ting asked. "I can sense something lingers on your mind."

"Ze people," Croc told her, "zey may not like having you coming in and doing whatever you want here."

"Please," Ting answered him, not fazed in the least, "I've dealt with worse racism than that. And once the Tower is built, I'll simply disappear and they won't have to worry about me again."

This intrigued the Masters.

"You'll just disappear?" Ox asked. "Why?"

"I just want to rebuild the Tower," Ting told him.

"Nothing else?" Croc asked.

"If you're asking about leadership," Ting said, "that isn't really my choice. If it was, I wouldn't change a thing."

There was a pause.

"You have our permission to rebuild the Tower," Ox said. "We will organize building crews and bring you the supplies you need. When do you need them?"

"As soon as possible," Ting told him.

"What's your rush?" Croc asked, surprised.

"I'm not rushed," Ting responded. "I just feel like Gongmen has had too much time without it. As long as it is gone, it remains a scar from Shen. And, the sooner I disappear, the sooner the public can calm down. As you implied, almost no one around here prefers the presence of peafowl anymore."

"The rebuild will start in two or three days," Ox said. "You're welcome to lodge here while the Tower is in progress."

"Thank you both," Ting said. "You're kindness is greatly appreciated."


	3. Opposition

_Chapter Three: Opposition_

The blueprints for the building lay on a table, being looked over by two pigs, a boar, and two sheep.

"I don't get it," one of the pigs said. "Why can't we use the stronger materials?"

"She was very clear," one of the sheep answered. "It must be as close to the original as possible."

"Do you think she'd notice?" the boar asked.

"I don't think so," the first pig said as he stepped forward to write. "So if we change it here..."

"No changes," came a sharp voice before the pig could make a mark.

The five workers turned to see Ting approaching.

"I already made the necessary changes to the design," she told them. "There will be no other changes."

"Aren't stronger materials needed, too?" the first pig asked.

"They're recommended," Ting replied, "but not needed. Please get to work."

The first pig looked like he wanted to say more, but he followed his comrades. Ting was glad the argument didn't last long. She wasn't sure how much longer her patience would hold.

Ting stood and watched as the first story was built up. Somehow, it reminded her of the first time she had visited the tower, when she had only just become a grandmother...

_She climbed the last of the steps to the topmost floor. Lord Peacock and Lady Peahen stood there, waiting for Ting's arrival. Ting bowed before them._

"_Welcome, Ting," Lord Peacock said. "As you have heard, we have been troubled over our son, Shen. Since we heard you have become a soothsayer, we were most pleased."_

"_You have need of my services, Your Highness?" Ting asked._

"_Yes," Lord Peacock answered. "As a fellow peafowl, we thought it would be more appropriate to seek your assistance."_

_There was a muffled boom elsewhere in the Tower. The Lord and Lady looked at each other._

"_Excuse me," Lady Peahen said, walking toward the source of the boom. "Shen? Are you all right?"_

"_We need you to look into the future, Shen's future to be exact," Lord Peacock said. "We must know."_

"_My apologies," Ting said, bowing again. "I've only begun my studies of soothsaying. I would suggest a more skilled soothsayer. But had my skills been greater, I would gladly lend my service."_

_Lord Peacock looked sorrowful._

"_I understand," he said. "We will send for another. We hope you will have a safe commute as you leave."_

"_Thank you, Your Highness," Ting said, and bowed again._

_As Ting waited for the boat to leave a week later, she heard a shout. She turned to see a bunny pointing at the horizon._

"_What is that?!" he cried. "What happened?!"_

_Ting looked to where he was pointing. Large stacks of smoke rose in the distance. Seeing them filled her with dread. That was where the panda village was._

Ting came back to the present with a shudder. Due to her inexperience, she had narrowly avoided being a major part of a catastrophe.

She turned to the gate, hearing many shouts. She could tell that many people had gathered for a protest.

A sheep walked by her.

"I wouldn't go over there right now if I were you," he told her.

"If this dispute was my cause," Ting said, "I must settle it."

The sheep looked unsure as the peahen walked to the gate. Many shouts pierced the air.

"No more peafowl!"

"Leave our city!"

"Get out of here!"

Ting considered the sheep's advice, but chose otherwise.

"I apologize if I've caused a problem," she told the crowd. "Is there some way I can settle this dispute?"

"Yeah!" cried a goose. "You can do that by leaving!"

The crowd shouted its agreements.

"I'm sorry," Ting apologized again. "I can't leave until this Tower is rebuilt."

"We don't need you!" shouted a rabbit. "We don't need any more peacocks, or even your cursed Tower!"

Ting's expression turned sharp.

"I will not stand to let the absence of the Tower forever be a scar caused by _him_!" she told them. "I want to do something right for a change! Not only for my people, but also for the world!"

The crowd seemed to have had enough. Several members began throwing rotten fruit at Ting. The peahen dodged the first, poorly-aimed shot, but others kept coming. She used a spell and the swipe of her wing to keep from getting splattered in the face. The crowd really didn't like that and threw more and more things at her. Ting hid behind the gate wall for safety. She looked at the Tower, still only an outlined first story.

"I can only pray that it finishes quickly," she told herself.

That evening, a weary Ting lay down on her mat for the night. The entire day had been full of angry workers, building complications mainly caused by the protest, and complaint after complaint. At least she could rest from it all at night. No one was trying to cause a problem or pelt her with rotten tomatoes. It was all quiet.

"Today could only be the worst day," she thought to herself as she dozed off. "There can't possibly be anything else that could go wrong."

"Oh, yes there can," answered back a voice.

Ting was suddenly wide awake. She recognized that voice. She may have only met him once, but his voice would always run a chill up her spine.

She leapt to her feet. It was then that she realized that she was still asleep. There was no way the small hut could get pitch black, even during the darkest nights.

"Who's there?" Ting barked.

"Why ask such silly questions?" answered back the voice, which seemed to change which direction it was coming from. "You know very well who's here."

Ting quivered.

"Shen."

"Ah, that's right!" came Shen's voice mocking her. "I almost began to doubt you!"

"You have no power over me, Shen!" Ting shouted into the darkness. "This is my dream! I have control!"

"Or do you?" Shen asked.

Ting whirled around to see Shen standing behind her. She wasted no time and threw energy daggers at him. But he disappeared in a puff of smoke and his laugh echoed all around. Ting tried to look for where Shen would come next, but it was impossible to see through the darkness. She threw two daggers onto the ground and the world suddenly lit up.

"You're proving to be smarter as the time goes by!" Shen mocked again. "But it won't help you. Not where you're going."

"If you're so smart," Ting shouted, watching for her foe with daggers at hand, "then why don't you tell me where I'm going?"

"You're going," Shen said, suddenly appearing out of thin air, "into insanity!"

"I'm not insane," Ting growled, readying to strike. "I'm nowhere near insane."

"You weren't sane enough to stay away from by beautiful handiwork," Shen pointed out.

"Sanity has nothing to do with that!" Ting snapped. "No one had the guts to do it! No one but me!"

She threw the daggers at Shen again, but with a wave of his wing, the daggers bounced off and fell to the ground.

"You think it takes guts to defeat me?" Shen laughed. "That panda only got lucky! I would have all of China by now! And you would be cowering at my feet!"

"No!" Ting protested. "Had you killed all of the Masters of the Jade Palace, I would be the next in line to take you down or die trying!"

"Let's see if I can change that," Shen said.

He disappeared again. Ting tried to watch for where he would appear next. She squawked as something flew right at her feet, flipping her over. As soon as she got to her feet, something else hit her across the beak. This was no more surprising or frightening as it was infuriating.

"Where is your control now?" Shen mocked.

Ting sent a massive heat wave at where Shen's voice had just come from. But it came right back. It knocked her over and a splitting pain infiltrated her mind.

"How much pain can one inflict on another's mind?" Shen began. "How much more of this until I drive you mad? Without you, the Tower will never be rebuilt. Oh, and what will your children and grandchildren think about how you cracked under the pressure of a simple rebuild? No one would ever take you seriously again if they believed you were insane."

Ting had enough.

"Get out of my head!" she cried, a wave of energy bursting off of her.

The pain stopped. But Shen began to laugh again.

"Until tomorrow night, Ting," he said, only his eyes visible and slowly disappearing.

Ting's eyes bolted open. Shen's laughter kept ringing in her ears for several moments before finally fading. The peahen lay petrified on her mat until she was sure daylight came.


	4. Stopping Lightning

_Chapter Four: Stopping Lightning_

The nightmares continued for weeks. There were some days that Ting couldn't remember any of the events except for those nightmares. But she believed she could bear it. There was finally a time each day that she could let loose her anger. Not that it did much good anyway.

One morning, Ting woke up to rain pounding the roof of the small hut. Her frustration seemed to boil. Rain would slow the Tower's progress. But it wouldn't put it to a complete halt.

The builders hurried to whatever shelter they could find while they worked. Everywhere Ting went, she heard grumbling. Their words were always about her.

"She should give us the day off."

"All she does is pace around while we work our skins off."

"Can't she see the rain is freezing us?"

"She was an idiot to start this project in the first place."

Ting did her best to ignore their comments. It was bad enough that Shen kept attacking her in her sleep.

Thunder boomed. Was there any stop to this storm?

"Can't we get a break?"

Ting turned to see a boar marching toward her.

"What seems to be the problem?" she asked.

"This rain is too heavy for us to work!" the boar complained.

"No, it isn't," Ting answered him, turning back to keep observing the work. "It might delay the work, perhaps."

A flash of lightning streaked across the sky and thunder loudly followed.

"Did you see that?" the boar continued. "That could have struck someone!"

"It didn't get close enough," Ting replied. "Please get back to work."

"You don't see the risks, do you?"

"Yes. I see them quite well. Can you not see that no one has been injured during the build?"

"You don't care about anything, do you? You don't care about anyone!"

Ting turned so fast that it made the boar flinch.

"I care very much about everything _and_ everyone," Ting said, almost growling. "You have no idea how long I have waited for this. To strike back at Shen ever since he betrayed his own kind. I have removed everything possible that would hinder the rebuild of this Tower and will continue to do so."

Ting suddenly grew very aware of her surroundings as something perked her senses. She leapt into the air and flew close to the Tower's third level.

CRACK!

A bolt of lightning threatened to strike the part of the Tower that Ting flew in front of. With a quick swipe of her wing, she deflected the bolt so it hit the ground in the Tower yard, a distance away from the Tower itself.

All the workers remained silent with shock as Ting flew back to the ground, walking off as if nothing had happened. Still as silently, the workers went back to work.

* * *

**I know it's pretty small, but I'll try to make the next chapters longer.**


	5. Respect

_Chapter Five: Respect_

Ting felt as if she was on fire, but it wasn't as bad this time. She fell to her knees to breathe and started to laugh.

"Whatever is the matter, Shen?" she taunted. "Are you growing soft?"

"Soft?! Soft?!" Shen cried. "Do you call this soft?!"

Ting squawked as she was thrown several feet back. She began to laugh again as she got up.

"Actually, yes," she told him. "That was more shocking than painful."

She got to her feet and took a look at Shen. His feathers were messy and some were dark, giving him the look that he was beaten up and tossed around. In addition to that, he was breathing heavily as if he'd run up and down the giant staircase that separates the Jade Palace from the Valley of Peace. To put it shortly, he looked exhausted.

"Oh, you poor soul," she mocked. "You look terrible. Hasn't your mother taught you to bathe more often?"

"Shut up!" Shen told her. "I am in control! You will be quivering in fear when I'm done with you!"

"Oh-ho-ho!" Ting told him. "How will you manage that if you've done nothing to me?"

"What?!" Shen protested. "I've put you through a thousand tortures already!"

"Then why don't I look as beaten up as you do, if not worse?" Ting asked. "Am I losing feathers from how terrified I am of you? Is there a hole in my robes? You are weak! I am gaining the advantage! You can't do anything to me!"

Shen let out a cry as he dove forward to attack. Ting merely sighed impatiently and stood to take the blow. He was just inches away when she suddenly found herself on her mat in the small hut. She sat up.

"Poor Shen," she told herself. "He can't even time his attacks correctly."

She got up and left the hut.

All that day, Ting was pleased to not hear any grumbling from the workers. Even the protest was cut down dramatically in size. Ting was sure it continued to lose members each time she walked by.

"Excuse me," came a voice from behind.

Ting turned to see the boar she argued with the previous day.

"I apologize for what I said yesterday," the boar told her.

"Don't worry," Ting told him. "I understand your concern for those working alongside you. Are there any other problems that I may not be aware of?"

"Everything seems to be going smoothly," the boar started. "We're beginning to put the fourth floor on now and-!"

He was interrupted by a cry for help. A pig fell from the third floor, but he barely fell past the second floor when Ting flew up and caught him. The peahen put him back on the third floor.

"You must be more careful," she said.

"Yeah," a nearby boar said, a large wooden beam on his shoulder, "we don't want many accidents here."

"I was talking to you."

Shock crossed the boar's face.

"You need to watch where you swing that beam," Ting told him. "If there is another incident like this, you will be let go."

She leapt from the Tower and glided down to the boar she was talking to previously.

"What were you about to say?" she asked.

* * *

In the early evening, Ting felt something small tug at one of her sleeves. She turned to see a young piglet girl. Her mother was right behind her.

"Is there something I can do for you?" she asked.

"Is my daddy still here?" the little girl asked shyly.

"I don't know," Ting told her. "What does he look like?"

"Daddy has a big brown spot on his nose and another on his eye," the piglet said, pointing to her own face, "and he's wearing brown and yellow today."

"He is here," Ting said. "He's working on the fourth floor right now."

"Can he come down?" the girl asked.

"He looks quite busy," Ting told her.

The girl looked downcast.

"Would you like to go up and see him?"

Mother and daughter were both surprised.

"Will it be safe?" the mother asked.

"If I keep a close eye on her," Ting said, "she will be safe."

The piglet smiled.

"Are you ready, child?" Ting asked.

The piglet nodded. Ting picked her up in her talons and flew up to the fourth floor. She gently put the piglet down and landed behind her.

"Walk carefully," she instructed. "Don't look down. You'll be terrified if you do."

The piglet did as she was told. They had only walked a foot or two when they came up behind a pig. He had briefly stopped working to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

"You have a visitor," Ting told him.

The pig looked over his shoulder. He stood up and turned to his daughter.

"My little birthday girl!" he cried, picking her up and planting a big kiss on her cheek. "What are you doing up here?"

"She helped me, Daddy," the piglet said, pointing to Ting.

"Well, you know what?" the pig told his daughter. "I'll be done in about an hour and then I'll come home to you and Mommy. Okay?"

"Okay, Daddy," the piglet said.

"Be safe," her father told her, kissing her forehead.

The piglet nodded and walked carefully back to Ting. The peahen carefully brought the piglet back to her mother.

"He says he'll be done in an hour, Mommy!" the piglet cried, leaping into her mother's arms.

"Thank you so much," the mother told Ting.

"It isn't a problem," Ting said. "In fact, she even reminds me of my little grandchildren. I always preferred to stop my work to play even for a moment with them."

She smiled as she saw them walk away happily. But something in the distance caught her attention. There was a dark mass of thunderclouds and a bolt of lightning shot out.

"_That_ would stop construction," she growled to herself.


	6. Scum of the Earth

_Chapter Six: Scum of the Earth_

Rain poured onto every available surface. Streams of water coursed through the streets. Almost no one was on the streets. Those who were didn't go far before they were drenched.

Ting knew work wouldn't be pleasurable in this weather and accidents would be more likely to happen. The workers were quite relieved to hear that they had the day off. But Ting couldn't just sit around in that hut all day.

Thunder boomed as she walked the streets. No sort of weather could ever strike her with fear. It was only extremely annoying.

Ting saw a nervous-looking goose leave his house out of the corner of her eye. She tried to ignore him as he went his way, but for some reason she couldn't. After he walked a couple blocks, he entered a dark alley, looking left and right as if he were ready to jump several feet into the air, should anything jump out of the shadows. Ting watched from across the street as something grabbed the goose's throat. The goose began to quake and whimper as if it were about to kill him.

Ting walked closer and peered into the alley. The goose had scrambled to dig into his satchel and brought out a bag of coins. The other figure promptly snatched it away. Ting was just close enough to hear the goose's begging.

"Please! Please say this is all! Just don't hurt them!"

_Blackmail_, thought Ting.

The figure weighed the bag in his paw.

"That will be all," he growled, "_unless_ you cross my path again."

"I won't!" cried the goose. "I swear I won't!"

The goose fled so fast that he didn't see Ting as she hid just out of sight of the alley. He raced down the street and into his house. His door slammed shut.

Ting looked back into the alley. No one was there. But a leopard came out of a neighboring alley, brushing extra water off the sleeves of an expensive-looking coat. He walked away from Ting, unaware that she was even there.

"If you want to look unsuspicious," Ting whispered to herself as she walked after him, "you should actually put more effort into it."

She walked after the leopard for several blocks, not having to try very hard to pretend that she wasn't following him. She saw him corner a pig and another goose before Ting got some vital information.

"P-please!" the goose whimpered. "I don't have the money on me! I can get it to you tomorrow!"

"This is your last warning," the leopard growled. "When you come by, give the money to my receptionist."

"Th-the Hao Xin Hotel?"

"The Hao Xin Hotel."

Ting was on her way before either could utter another syllable.

It was later on in the evening when the leopard returned to his office. He hung his coat and sat down at his desk to count his spoils. Lightning lit the sky, and as thunder boomed, the leopard looked up to see a dark figure with two piercing eyes.

"Can I do something for you?" he asked her.

"Can't you find better things to do with your time than picking on such poor creatures?" the figure growled.

The leopard scoffed.

"Well, I have a question for you," he began. "How did you get past security?"

He got up and walked to her, but she disappeared when lightning flashed again. When thunder boomed, she was at the far window, eyes still staring down his soul.

"Is this a magic trick?" the leopard asked, barely even impressed. "I know so many other magic tricks that they'd make your head spi-!"

At that instant, the lightning flashed again. The figure disappeared and didn't reappear after thunder boomed. The leopard looked around, but not well enough.

"I know all you have done. All your sins."

A chill ran up the leopard's spine as he slowly turned to see the figure at the window formerly behind him.

"What do you want with me?" he whimpered.

"What do I want with you?" the figure growled. "Oh, you should know."

She motioned at the desk. The leopard bolted to it.

"But-but this is mine!" he cried, scooping the money up in his arms. "I earned it!"

"You never earned anything," the figure growled louder. "What do I want?"

Lightning flashed. Thunder boomed.

"I WANT YOUR SOUL!"

The eyes branded themselves into the leopard's consciousness. The leopard shrieked. He grabbed for every yen he had, stuffed it all in his pockets, and out his office door, past the sheep that saw everything through the door's slight opening. The leopard dashed down the stairs and out the building's door, stopping only to tell his pug assistant to sell the building and everything inside and give the money to those they had taken from. He rushed by everyone he victimized, dropping their money in his flight, and made his way to the Tower grounds. As soon as Ox and Croc opened the hut's door, he threw himself at their feet.

"I'm a criminal!" he cried. "Arrest me! Tie me up and leave me somewhere that she can't get me!"

His eyes shifted to the peahen that was wringing out her cloak just a few feet away.

"AAAAAAAAAH!" he shrieked before fainting.

Ox and Croc turned to look at Ting.

"Do you know what happened?" Ox asked.

Ting shrugged.

"Maybe he had a bad dream."

* * *

**Someone left a review saying that Ting mocking Shen in the last chapter was basically like she was arousing the devil. Well, I should remind you: if you push her the right way, Ting is the devil.**


	7. Winning the Fight

_Chapter Seven: Winning the Fight_

Word of Ting's actions that night spread like a wildfire. Of course she had told Ox and Croc the following morning, and of course she knew that the sheep had witnessed the entire event. There wasn't one street that didn't have someone attempting to act out the leopard's terrified flight without nearly falling over in laughter.

But now that the rain had stopped, construction could continue on the Tower. It was finally nearing completion.

Ting was lost in thought. She hadn't really thought about what would happen after the Tower was finished. She thought about what furniture she'd get for it and where to get it. She thought about the ceremony that would officially open the Tower. But a thought she continued to push from her mind: what she would do after the ceremony. She supposed she'd figure it out when the time comes.

Then she was suddenly struck with inspiration.

"You there!" she barked at one of the workers. "Do you know of a good silversmith?"

"No," the sheep answered, "but my friend does. He's right over there."

Ting followed his directions and approached the second sheep.

"Your friend told me you know of a good silversmith," she told him. "Is this person's work exceptional?"

"Definitely," the sheep responded. "He can do statues, ornaments, even stationary."

"I have some work for him to do," Ting said. "Where can I reach him?"

"He lives in the south end of the Valley of Peace," the sheep told her. "Just send the message to Te Liao at his shop, Fu de Yin."

"I will," Ting replied. "Thank you very much."

"No problem," the sheep responded before turning back to his work.

Ting walked into the hut, grabbing and writing on a blank scroll quickly. She sealed it and made a beeline for the Tower gate. A young gosling was sitting nearby, eating a rice roll.

"Young man," Ting told him, "I have a very important message for you to deliver."

The gosling jumped up, stray grains of rice falling from his face and shirt. He stuffed the rest of the roll in his mouth and swallowed.

"Finally!" he cried. "Where does it need to go?"

Ting admired this teenager's gusto. He reminded her of the youngest children of her oldest son.

"This must go to the southernmost village of the Valley of Peace," she directed, handing the scroll to him, "to Te Liao at Fu de Yin."

"Got it!" the gosling told her. "It should be there by tomorrow morning!"

He leaped into the air and flew off.

"A very important message to a silversmith?"

Ting turned to see Ox and Croc behind her.

"You will understand when it comes time," she simply told them. "You will thank me when my plan comes to light. I guarant-!"

Ting was interrupted by a very loud and shrill whistle. Everyone looked up towards the top of the Tower. A boar was standing there, waving something small in the air.

"Hey! Everybody!" he proclaimed. "The last shingle!"

Cheers and chants of "Place it! Place it!" erupted as he turned to nail the shingle into place. When he finished, he turned around.

"It's done!" he cried.

The cheers shattered the air.

"The build is finished," Ting said. "But there is still more that needs to be done."

* * *

Ting walked around a battered Shen just as he had done when he first began to torment her.

"You poor soul," she told him. "Just look at what you have done to yourself. If only something could have been done to help you."

"You would have helped me by staying away from my city!" Shen spat.

"Your city?" Ting continued. "Your city? This city never belonged to you, _your Lordship_."

The last sentence mocked Shen.

"You don't understand what you have done," Shen growled.

"Don't I?" Ting asked. "I have brought peace and hope back to the citizens of Gongmen City. And more especially to our race. You cannot hope to win anymore, Shen. I have won. You are only a small, angry spirit that hopes for what can never happen again. I pity you, Shen, just as I pity the foolish."

Shen cried out and threw a dagger at her. Ting didn't move or show any signs of fear or flinching and the blade stopped an inch from her forehead.

"Pity, pity," Ting continued. "Have you forgotten? This is my dream, Shen. You have no power over me."

"I will always haunt you!" Shen cried. "You will always suffer!"

"And I will always ignore you and your anguished cries," Ting responded. "You have sought for destruction, and now you have it. You should be content, but the evil ones are never content, are they, Shen?"

"Shut up, hen!" Shen shrieked. "Shut up!"

"No, I will not," Ting told him. "Why don't you follow your own advice, you fool?"

Shen shrieked and threw every blade he had at her. They all stopped within a safe distance or missed her completely. Ting laughed.

"I thought you knew you couldn't hit me from the first blade," she mocked.

Shen fell to the floor, panting. All of the blades that he threw and had been in midair clattered to the ground. Ting looked down on him with disgust.

"You shame our kind, Shen," she told him. "And what's more: you shame yourself. Yes, the city could have been yours, but you fell. You chose the wrong path. You have failed. I now banish you, Lord Shen, to live in that deep, dark pit you dug for yourself many decades ago. Begone!"

A wind seemed to blow from behind Ting. Shen dug into the ground with his talons, but it was of no use.

"No!" Shen cried, his daggers flying past him. "No! No! NOOOOOOOO!"

He lost his grip and flew backward into nonexistence.

* * *

**Te Liao means "Special Treatment" and Fu de Yin means "Blessing of Silver"**

**Just because the Tower is built and Shen is gone doesn't mean the story is over. Stay tuned!**


End file.
